105 Inspirational Yoga Quotes

The beauty of yoga is that no matter how long you hold your headstand or how deep into the splits you go, you can always push yourself forward.

It’s both a mental and physical practice.

What is our goal? A state of pure bliss, or enlightenment.

Use these inspirational yoga quotes to help guide you on your journey!

This compilation of quotes comes from some of the greatest yoga masters, practitioners, and influential poets from around the world! Learn more about each of the quoted authors at the bottom of this post.

2. “Yoga is like music. The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.”

22. “When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds. Your mind transcends limitations; your consciousness expands in every direction; and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”

36. “Anyone can practice. Young man can practice. Old man can practice. Very old man can practice. Man who is sick, he can practice. Man who doesn’t have strength can practice. Except lazy people; lazy people can’t practice Ashtanga yoga.”

60. “Crying is one of the highest devotional songs. One who knows crying, knows spiritual practice. If you can cry with a pure heart, nothing else compares to such a prayer. Crying includes all the principles of Yoga.”

67. “Yoga, as a way of life and a philosophy, can be practiced by anyone with inclination to undertake it, for yoga belongs to humanity as a whole. It is not the property of any one group or any one individual, but can be followed by any and all, in any corner of the globe, regardless of class, creed or religion.”

103. “The purpose of life is to watch and experience living. To enjoy living every moment of it. And to live in environments, which are calm, quiet, slow, sophisticated, elegant. Just to be. Whether you are naked or you have a golden robe on you, that doesn’t make any difference. The ideal purpose of your life is that you are grateful – great and full – that you are alive, and you enjoy it.”

Amrit Desai is known as “one of the pioneers of the authentic teachings of yoga in the West”. He studied yoga from masters in India and moved to America in 1960. Learn more about his journey here.

B.K.S. Iyengar started Iyengar yoga. At 16 he was sent to study yoga under Sri T. Krishnamacharya (known as the father of modern yoga), and in just 2 years was sent to start teaching/preaching yoga! Learn more about this incredible yogi here.

Bhagavad Gita is an ancient Indian text that has become an extremely influential piece of literature in the Hindu religion. Literally translated, Bhagavad Gita means “The song of the Lord”. Learn more about the Bhagavad Gita here.

Buddha quoted above is the founder of Buddhist religion, however Buddha actually refers to any being who has reached a personal state of enlightenment. Buddha literally translated means “awakened one”, someone who is able to see things as they really are. Learn more here.

Dalai Lama is a Buddhist monk and spiritual leader of Tibet. The Buddhist believe he is a Bodhisattva, which are “enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity”. Learn more about him here.

Deepak Chopra, M.D. is a speaker and author of over 80 books, which focus on alternative medicine and mind-body healing. His doctorate is in internal medicine and endocrinology. Learn more about him here.

Dr. Timothy McCall is an internal medicine doctor and the medical editor for Yoga Journal. He is an influential/modern day yogi, and spreads the word of yoga by teaching a seminar (with his wife) called Yoga as Medicine. Learn more about him here.

Kripalvanandji was a Kundalini yoga master and extremely religious man. He spent many years traveling across India giving lectures. Read more here.

Osho was an Indian spiritual teacher. Despite the many books “written by” Osho, he actually spoke his word instead of writing it. He didn’t want any of his speeches to be for one person, so he had his speeches transcribed into a written story. Learn more about his interesting path here.

Patanjali, The Yoga Sutras are a staple of the practice of yoga. This text outlines all the teachings of yoga, in a short sentence structure. It is broken into 4 chapters. Learn more about this important text here.

Rumi was born in 1207, and is now claimed by 3 countries as their national poet. He spent most of his life inspired by a holy man names Shams, when Shams passed about Rumi fell into a deep depression and spewed out thousands of poems. These poems have inspired people around the world for decades, learn more here.

Sri Krisna Pattabhi Jois studied under yoga master Krishnamcharya, and is known for bringing the Ashtanga Vinyasa system to life. Learn more about him and Ashtanga here.

Svatmarama is the author of “Hatha Yoga Pradipika”, which is the oldest known text on Hatha yoga (written in the 1400s). Learn more about him and this text here.

T. Krishnamacharya was a yoga master, Ayurvedic healer and teacher to many yoga masters. He is known as the “father of modern yoga”, and he introduced a more physically demanding practice to Hatha yoga. Learn more about him here.

T.K.V. Desikachar is the son and student of T. Krishnamacharya. He taught yoga based on Krishnamacharya’s method, and publish many books on yoga including “The Heart of Yoga“. Learn more about him here.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a spiritual leader and peace activist. His key teaching is that “through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment—the only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world”. Learn more here.

Yogi Bhajan is known as the master of Kundalini yoga. He lived an inspiring life, including his journey of 325 miles by foot to guided his entire village of 7,000 people to safety (not to mention he was only 18)! Learn more about him here.

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